Saracinesca eBook

themselves nations, and seeking every occasion for
destroying and plundering each other, frequently even
turning against the Church herself. The Church
has committed faults in history, without doubt, but
on the whole she has nobly fulfilled her contract,
and reaps the fruits of fidelity in the vigour and
unity she displays after eighteen centuries.
Man, on the other hand, has failed to do his duty,
and all races of men are consequently suffering for
their misdeeds; the nations are divided against each
other, and every nation is a house divided against
itself, which sooner or later shall fall.”

“But,” objected Gouache, “allowing,
as one easily may, that all this is true, your Eminence
is always called reactionary in politics. Does
that accord with these views?”

Gouache believed the question unanswerable, but as
he put it he worked calmly on with his pencil, labouring
hard to catch something of the Cardinal’s striking
expression in the rough drawing he was making.

“Nothing is easier, my friend,” replied
the statesman. “The republic of the Church
is driven to bay. We are on a war footing.
For the sake of strength we are obliged to hold together
so firmly that for the time we can only think of maintaining
old traditions without dreaming of progress or spending
time in experiments. When we have weathered the
storm we shall have leisure for improving much that
needs improvement. Do not think that if I am
alive twenty years hence I shall advise what I advise
now. We are fighting now, and we have no time
to think of the arts of peace. We shall have
peace some day. We shall lose an ornament or two
from our garments in the struggle, but our body will
not be injured, and in time of peace our ornaments
will be restored to us fourfold. But now there
is war and rumour of war. There is a vast difference
between the ideal republic which I was speaking of,
and the real anarchy and confusion which would be
brought about by what is called republicanism.”

“In other words, if the attack upon the Church
were suddenly abandoned, your Eminence would immediately
abandon your reactionary policy,” said Gouache,
“and adopt progressive views?”

“Immediately,” replied the Cardinal.

“I see,” said Gouache. “A little
more towards me—­just so that I can catch
that eye. Thank you—­that will do.”

CHAPTER XIX.

When Del Ferice was thought sufficiently recovered
of his wound to hear some of the news of the day,
which was about three weeks after the duel, he learned
that Astrardente was dead, that the Duchessa had inherited
all his fortune, and that she was on the point of leaving
Rome. It would be hard to say how the information
of her approaching departure had got abroad; it might
be merely a clever guess of the gossips, or it might
be the report gleaned from her maid by all the other
maids in town. Be that as it may, when Del Ferice